The Flaxton Boys is a British historical children's television series set in the West Riding of Yorkshire and covering a timespan of almost a century. The series was made by Yorkshire Television and was broadcast on ITV between 1969 and 1973, running for 4 series and 52 episodes, each of 30 minutes duration. The Flaxton Boys had a number of different scriptwriters, was produced by Jess Yates and Robert D. Cardona, and directed mainly by Cardona (45 episodes). Each of the series was set in a different era, spanning the years 1854 to 1945/6. Plot, cast and episodes The series is set at Flaxton Hall, near the fictional Yorkshire village of Carliston. Each series follows the exploits and adventures of a different generation of boys, in 1854, 1890, 1928 and 1945/6. The main protagonists in each series are a young member of the Flaxton line and his closest friend, both portrayed as being around 12–13 years old. Storylines are drawn mainly from the traditional staples of the Boys' Adventure genre, including plot elements such as hidden treasure, cryptic clues to be solved, ghostly apparitions, malign and unscrupulous villains, and spies. Each series is essentially self-contained in terms of cast and character. However two lead actors feature in more than one series – Victor Winding portrays Barnaby Sweet in series 2 and Sweet's son Benjamin in series 3 and 4, while Richard Gale plays Sir Peregrine Stilgoe in series 1, his son Sir Tarquin in series 2, and Miles Osborne in series 3. A constant element through all four series is narration by Gerry Cowan, who appears as Slight in series 1, Jacklin Flaxton in series 2 and as Roger Grafton in series 3. Series 1 (1969) It is 1854, and Captain Andrew Flaxton is posted as missing in the Crimean War. His wife Lucy and son Jonathan inherit the dilapidated Flaxton Hall, an imposing crenellated and ivy-covered property in the Yorkshire countryside. Jonathan befriends a local boy, Archie Weekes, and the pair spend their free time exploring. Local legend maintains that a great treasure is concealed somewhere within Flaxton Hall or its grounds, and this spikes the interest and attention of the area's avaricious, ruthless and unprincipled villain Sir Peregrine Stilgoe, who hires three convicts to assist him in locating the treasure. Jonathan and Archie find themselves in constant danger, but manage to keep one step ahead of Sir Peregrine